AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, it's been a little while since I wrote Chapter 5 of Melissa's story "Growing Up!", and alas, it will probably be a while longer before I get back to that story as I am unfortunately a little bit stuck coming up with ideas for the next few chapters. As a writer, I have to say that this year overall has been a disappointment for me compared to last year and the year before that. (Just in case you were wondering...I wrote this during the latter part of last year...took a long time for my proofreader to get this back to me!) Unlike the previous two years, it's become apparent that I'm not going to complete a major story this year, and most of what I've written has been one-off stories. I'm finding myself becoming more and more of a sporadic writer. On the positive side, it increases the chances that my stories will turn out better as a whole in the long run, plus these one-offs are fun to write and they do help me branch out a bit more as a writer, allowing me to practice different things in case I want to use them in future stories. So, here's another little one-off from yours truly!
Anyways, you'll remember that in "Beat the Clock", Ralph and Melissa became the parents of little Michael Raccoon. I've already written a couple of one-offs starring a young Michael with his family...and here's another such one-off. In future sequels to "Beat the Clock", there will be a lot of focus on Ralph, Melissa and Michael and the family bond that they have together, and stories like these help me get that bond between them down ahead of time so I can be prepared for the future. In this particular story, Michael experiences a desire 95% of young boys experience at some point in their young life: the desire to have his very own puppy. Ralph and Melissa end up getting their son one for his (and Ralph's) birthday, feeling that their child has proven himself responsible enough to take care of a pet. However, it turns out to be more challenging than Michael really thought it would be, and he learns a rather sad lesson on being more responsible...Unlike my previous one-offs starring Michael, this'll be a two-part story...for my own convenience! (Plus I think it will make this story easier to read than having 25,000 words all in one go...) Just one little note-Michael in this story turns seven years old, so this would be taking place in 2004 (as he was born in 1997 in "Beat the Clock").
Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy...
"Puppy Problems"
CHAPTER ONE: Finding A New Friend
It's a warm, muggy, early September afternoon in the Evergreen Forest. Summer is almost over, and fall will soon arrive. Most of the Forest's residents will be eager to see a reprieve from the summer heat, as this has been one of the hottest summers in recent memory.
Summer's end also means the start of a new school year for the children of the Forest. School has recently started up again, and all the kids are back to their usual routines-making new friends and learning as much as they can. Today is a Monday, which would normally be a school day for the Forest's children. However, today happens to be Canadian Labour Day, a day to honor the achievements of Canada's working men and women. Not only does that mean that most of the Forest's businesses are closed for the day, it also means a day out of school for the kids; which they greatly appreciate as they always look forward to having a long weekend to spend more time with their friends and families.
And that was why little Michael Raccoon was out walking through the Forest with his mother, Melissa. The Evergreen Standard was closed in observance of the holiday, and while Ralph had gone to visit Bert and Maxie for the day, Melissa had decided to take her son with her for a jog through the Forest. She always liked going for a nice little jog as it was a great way to keep in shape, and it was always nice to spend a little bit of quality time with her son.
"Hey, Mommy!" Michael called out as he raced after his mother. "Slow down, Mommy! I can't keep up!"
"Oh!" Melissa remarked as she slowed her pace, realizing she had been jogging a bit too far ahead of her son. "Sorry, Mikey. I didn't realize you were having a hard time keeping up with me..."
"Well, you're bigger than me, Mom!" Michael replied. "I can't run as fast as you..." Seeing as Michael was a fairly stocky child, he had a hard time running very fast.
"Oh, you're not doing that bad, honey," Melissa warmly smiled as she encouraged her little kit. "You'll get better as you get older."
"Really?" Michael curiously asked, not entirely sure if he should believe his mother. He didn't think he'd ever get any good at running.
"Really," Melissa nodded as she patted her son on the head. It was at this moment she noticed that the sky had started to grow a bit darker and the wind had begun to pick up a little. "Ooh, I think there's a storm coming, Mikey..."
"How do you know, Mom?" Michael wondered.
"Well, my knees are starting to ache," his mother explained. "When I was your age, my father-your grandfather-used to tell me that when his knees ached, a storm was coming."
"Oh...Mommy, there won't be any lightning, will there?" Michael worriedly asked, as he was terrified of lightning. He had started to overcome his fear, but even so, the loud booms of thunder still scared him. He didn't want to be caught out in the middle of a thunderstorm, especially not after what had happened on his family's camping trip earlier that summer...
"Well, I don't know," Melissa shrugged. She was a bit surprised, Bert hadn't forecast any rain for today. But then again, Bert didn't exactly have the best track record when it came to the weather. "But maybe we should end on home before the storm hits."
"Okay, Mom," Michael smiled as he and his mother headed back for the Raccoondominium. He was eager to head home anyways; his little legs were already hurting from running so much today.
As mother and son headed home, Michael soon heard a familiar voice calling out for him.
"Hi there, Mikey!" Michael eagerly ran towards the voice.
"Hello, Gary!" Michael enthusiastically greeted his friend. It was Gary Kneitel, a young hedgehog who was in the same grade as Michael. He was one of Michael's closer friends in school; the two of them got along quite well.
At that moment, the German Shepherd dog that Gary was walking leaped up and licked Michael in the face, causing the kit to giggle. "Hehe!"
Melissa walked up to the two young kids at that moment. "Well, hello there, Gary," she smiled at the hedgehog. It was always nice to see one of Michael's little friends, seeing as he didn't have very many at school...
"Oh, hi, Mrs. Raccoon," Gary smiled as he waved at Melissa. "I was just out walking my dog."
"Hehe, stop it!" Michael giggled as the dog continued to lick his face. "Stop it!" At that moment, Gary yanked the German Shepherd back by its' leash.
"I didn't know you had a dog, Gary," Melissa remarked.
"Oh, this is my German Shepherd, Buddy," Gary smiled as he patted his dog on the head.
"When'd you get him?" Michael wondered.
"Oh, my Mom got him for me over the summer," the young hedgehog explained. "I asked my mother and she got him for me and told me to shut up and leave her alone..." he sighed, looking pretty sad. "I wish she'd spend more time with me..."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Gary," Melissa sympathized with the little hoglet. She knew that Gary, unlike her own son, was growing up in a broken and unhappy home. Gary was the son of Phillip and Ruby Kneitel; she'd gotten to know the couple a little better at a school play Michael and Gary had been in last school year. While Gary's father cared greatly about his son and wanted to see him succeed, his mother didn't have very much to do with her child at all. She didn't spend much time with Gary, rarely encouraged him or supported him, and often dumped gifts on him to keep him out of her fur. To add to that, the Kneitels, unlike Ralph and Melissa, did not have a very happy marriage. Ruby was physically and verbally abusive towards her husband; she drank a lot, frequently got into shouting matches with him, and even threw stuff at him. The last time Melissa saw Gary's parents, his father clearly sported bruises. Phillip Kneitel had actually written to Melissa's relationship advice column asking for help, but the advice she'd given hadn't seemed to work. "I try my best to help as many couples as I can," she thought, "but I guess some couples are beyond my help..."
"Oh, it's alright," Gary sighed again. For a child growing up in an unhappy home, he seemed to be pretty upbeat.
"How old is he, Gary?" Michael asked his friend.
"Oh, about five months."
"Can he do any tricks?"
"Oh, he can do a few!" Gary exclaimed as he turned towards his dog. "C'mon, Buddy! Roll over!" Instantly, Buddy laid down and rolled over onto his back. Michael knelt down and rubbed the German Shepherd's belly, causing him to pant a little.
"Can he do anything else?" the young kit wondered.
"He sure can. Stand, Buddy!"
Instantly, Buddy got up and stood up on his back legs, licking Michael in the face once again, causing him to giggle.
"He sure is friendly, Gary!" Michael cheerfully smiled.
"Yeah, he is," Gary nodded. "He still goes to the bathroom on our floor sometimes, though..."
"Well, Gary, I'm sure he'll get better as he gets older," Melissa chimed in. She noticed the wind was blowing even harder and the sky was now nearly pitch black; the coming storm was almost here. "It's been nice seeing you Gary, but Mikey and I have to get going. We don't want to get caught out in the rain!"
"Oh, I understand. I'd better go back home too...Dad's not home yet," Gary replied. "I just hope Mom doesn't throw another beer bottle at Dad when he comes home..."
"Come along, Mikey," Melissa instructed her son. "Let's hurry home!"
"Okay, Mommy," Michael smiled as he waved goodbye to his friend. "Bye, Gary. See you at school tomorrow!"
"See you there, Mikey," Gary waved back.
As mother and son headed home, Michael couldn't help but think about dogs. It seemed almost everyone he knew at school had a pet of some kind; usually a dog. He'd always found himself fascinated by dogs, and he enjoyed spending a little time with his friend's new German Shepherd. In fact...he felt more than a little jealous of Gary. For quite a while, the little kit had wanted a dog of his own...it seemed like it would be a lot of hard work raising one, yes. But he thought it would be worth it to have his very own friendly companion...
"My birthday is next week..." Michael thought to himself. "Maybe I should ask Mom tonight if she'll get me one for my birthday...?"
It was late in the evening at the Raccoondominium. By now, the storm had arrived and had struck the Evergreen Forest. It was raining heavily outside as torrents of water fell from the sky. Lightning bolts rapidly streaked across the sky, and loud booming thunder could be heard for miles around. But at least it was nice and dry in the safety of the Raccoondominum.
The Raccoon family had recently eaten their dinner, and while Ralph was cleaning things up downstairs, Melissa was upstairs in Michael's bedroom, putting her little kit to bed for the night. But Michael didn't seem very sleepy, as he had a lot of questions for his mother.
"Mom, why isn't Gary's mom more like you?" Michael wondered. He never really understood why his friend's mother treated him so poorly. "He always tells me she never spends time with him. Why?"
"Well, sweetie..." Melissa tried to explain as she tucked the kit into bed. "I'm afraid not all mothers love their kids, Mikey."
"Why not?" It didn't really make much sense to his young mind for a mother to not love their child.
"I can't really explain, Mikey...some parents just don't love their kids," Melissa sighed. "You're a very lucky boy, honey...your father and I will always be here for you if you need us. Not every kid has parents like that."
"Oh..." The thought of his friend feeling unloved by his own mother made him feel sad, so he thought he'd discuss something more positive with Melissa. "Mom, did you get me what I asked for my birthday?" he wondered.
"Well, your father and I did go shopping yesterday-I'm sure you remember," she smiled at her son. "I think you'll like what I got you..."
"Can I open one of my presents ahead of time...?" Michael innocently asked. He was so eager for his birthday, he didn't want to wait a whole week to see what his parents had gotten him.
"No, sweetie. It's not your birthday yet," she chuckled.
"Aww, Mommy..." Michael groaned. He had been hoping she'd let him open one early.
"Don't fret, Mikey; it'll be worth the wait," she patted him on the head. "You did remember to get your father a gift this year, right? Your father asked me to ask if you remembered...and you know you two do have the same birthday..."
"Oh, I did, Mom!" Michael proudly beamed. "I bought something at our school's store Friday!"
"Oh, you did?" Melissa remarked. "What did you get him?"
"I can't tell you, Mommy! That's a secret!" Michael giggled happily.
"Well, I'm sure your father will be happy when your birthdays roll around," Melissa warmly smiled.
It was at this moment that Michael remembered what he had wanted to ask his mother. Visions of puppies playing danced through his young mind. Now was the perfect time to ask her...
"Mom?"
"Yes, honey?" Melissa continued to smile warmly at her little son.
"Mom, I know you went shopping for my birthday presents yesterday...but...I was wondering..." he stumbled a bit, as he was a bit nervous to ask her. What if she said "no" to him?
"Wondering what?" Melissa sounded a little confused. She wasn't sure what her son was trying to ask her.
"Mom...could you please get me...one more present...for my birthday?" Michael hopefully asked, his eyes innocently gazing into his mother's.
"Well..." she quickly thought aloud. "I suppose one more present couldn't hurt; as long as it's within reason. Tell me, honey, what would you like for your father and I to get you?"
"Mom...I want...a puppy!" the little kit beamed enthusiastically.
"A...puppy...?" Melissa was a bit taken aback; she hadn't been expecting her son to ask her for that sort of present. Then again, it wasn't all that big of a surprise to her. "I know lots of little boys want to have their very own puppies sooner or later; I had a feeling he'd ask about this sooner or later," she thought to herself. "Besides, he's always playing with other people's dogs and he always loves seeing TV programs with dogs in them..."
"Yes, Mommy!" Michael continued to grin. "I've wanted one for a long time...I just know I'd be good with one! Can you please get me one...?" he hopefully asked.
Melissa was a bit on the fence when it came to getting her son a puppy. On the one hand, Michael was pretty responsible for a child his age. He'd always been willing to help out around the house any way he possibly could. On the other hand, she knew puppies required a lot of work. It would take a lot of time and energy to train a puppy, and she wasn't entirely sure her kit would be able to keep up with one.
"Well, Mikey...I don't know," she shrugged. "I just don't know..."
"But Mom...every dog I've met seems to like me! I know if we got a puppy, it would like me..."
"That's true, but..." Melissa struggled for words as she tried her best to explain things to her son. "You do know puppies require a lot of time, work, and effort, right?"
"I know," the kit nodded.
"You'll have to feed it when it gets hungry. You'll have to play when it wants to play. You'll have to teach it how to behave and be a good dog. And you'll have to take it outside and teach it how to use the bathroom so it doesn't make a mess on our floor," she explained. "It's a lot of responsibility, you know."
"I know that," Michael nodded again. "But Mommy...you've told me I'm a responsible boy. I always help you wash up dishes...I help you vacuum the house...I helped you in the garden last year when we picked all the vegetables for the harvest!"
"That is true," Melissa managed to smile. Michael certainly was a dependable little kit. "He sure does take a lot after his father..." she thought to herself. "I know you're more responsible than most children your age, but I just think it might be too much for you. A lot of people buy pets for their children and then they don't know what to do with them, and then they end up being either abandoned or put in the pound. I don't want to have to do that..."
"Mom, I promise I'll take good care of my puppy if you get one for me..." he pleaded. "Please...?"
Melissa was in a difficult position; it was hard to say no to that adorable little face. "...Tell you what," she smiled at her son as she gently rubbed his furry head. "I'll talk this over with your father tonight, and then we'll see. How does that sound?"
"Okay, Mommy," Michael managed to crack a smile, though deep down he felt rather disappointed. He had a hunch his father was going to say no, and that would be that. "I understand..."
"Alright then. Now, you need to get your sleep, as you have school tomorrow, young man," she smiled as she leaned down and kissed her son's cheek. "Goodnight, my sweet little baby..."
"Mom!" Michael groaned upon hearing his mother call him that. He always felt embarrassed whenever his mother called him things like that. "I'm almost seven! You don't have to call me that!"
"But you are my baby, Michael," Melissa continued to warmly smile. "You're my only child, you know, and you're very special to me. You'll always be my little baby, no matter what."
"I know," Michael sighed. "But it's embarrassing when you call me that. You called me that at my school play last year and all the other kids made fun of me..."
"I didn't mean to embarrass you at your play, honey...I was just so proud to see you up on that stage," she explained.
"I'm a big kid now...you don't have to call me that!"
"Aww, you're not too big for me to tuck you in bed and kiss you goodnight, are you...?" Melissa wondered.
"Well, I, no...but..."
"And are you too big for Pikachu?" she pointed at the stuffed Pikachu plush doll that her son always slept with.
"No! I love Pikachu!" Michael protested.
"If it makes you feel any better, honey, I won't call you stuff like that in front of your friends," she patted him on the head again. "But remember, you'll always be my special little boy, no matter what."
"I know, Mommy..." Michael smiled as he hugged his mother. "I love you..."
"I love you too, Mikey," Melissa smiled. She was a bit worried that Michael might be too scared to sleep in his room tonight due to the thunderstorm outside. "Honey, are you sure it'll be okay for you to sleep in here tonight? I know how much thunder scares you..."
"No, I'll be fine, Mommy!" Michael gave her a confident smile. He had come to realize that as long as he was safe indoors, the lightning wouldn't hurt him.
"You sure, sweetie?" Melissa worried. "If you get too scared you can always come to sleep with your father and me..."
"I'll be okay, Mom!" Michael continued to beam. "Pikachu here will protect me!"
"Well...alright. Goodnight, my little cutie pie. Sweet dreams," she sweetly whispered as she headed for the door. "And remember, if you need me or your father, we'll be right downstairs as that's where we'll be sleeping tonight. Good night..." she trailed off as she slowly closed the door behind her.
As soon as his mother left his bedroom, he turned his attention towards his Pikachu plush doll. "Pikachu, do you think Mom and Dad will get me a puppy for my birthday?"
Pikachu didn't respond. It couldn't really, as it was only a simple plush doll and as it wasn't alive, it had no voice of its' own. Even if it had been alive, all it would have said it was its' own name, so it still wouldn't have been much help. But Michael seemed to be able to communicate with it...he was an imaginative young kit.
"You're right...they'll never get me one...I know Mom and Dad are going to tell me I can't have one tomorrow..." he sighed, sadly. He just knew he would never get to have one. "Good night, little buddy..." he yawned as he curled up with his plush doll and drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, Melissa slowly crept downstairs and entered her living room. There on the sofa was her husband, picking up a leather-bound book off their new coffee table. She slowly walked up to the sofa and sat down beside her husband, slowly scooting up next to him.
"What are you looking at, dear?" Melissa asked out of curiosity, causing Ralph to jump with a start.
"Hey-Oh, it's you, honey," Ralph nervously chuckled.
"Did I startle you?" Melissa giggled a little.
"No, no-I just didn't hear you come down the stairs, that's all," he continued to chuckle. "Is Michael asleep?"
"I think so," his wife replied. "He didn't want to go to bed so early, but he has school tomorrow and he is a growing boy, after all..."
"He'll get to stay up later when he gets a little bit older," Ralph nodded. "You did remember to ask him if he got something for my birthday, right...?" he hopefully asked.
"Oh, Ralph," Melissa chuckled a bit at her husband's worries. She knew that he constantly worried that Michael wasn't as close with him as he was with her. "I did, and don't worry. He told me he got something for you at the school store. But you'll have to wait until your birthdays before you can see what it is..."
"Well, that's a relief!" Ralph managed to crack a smile. "I don't know, I just can't help but worry Michael will forget me in the long run..."
"Aw, Ralph, I'm sure that won't happen," Melissa gave a reassuring smile as she placed her paw on his shoulder. "You're his father, and he loves you and looks up to you. I'm sure he wouldn't forget you."
"Well, I hope you're right..." Ralph let out a heavy sigh.
"Now, can you tell me what book that is you're looking at, dear?" Melissa repeated her question.
"Oh! Ah, well, you know," Ralph sheepishly replied, "seeing as our little son's birthday is next week, it's got me feeling really sentimental and...Well, I just thought it would be nice to look through one of our old scrapbooks again."
"Mmm, that sounds like a nice idea," Melissa smiled sweetly. "It's always nice to take a look back and relive our memories of raising Michael when he was younger...Which book is that, by the way? We've got several of them..."
"This is the one that covers your pregnancy and Michael's first year of life," her husband informed her.
"Ah, there's a lot of good memories in there," Melissa fondly smiled. Some of her most beloved and treasured memories were contained within that scrapbook..."Well, why don't we take a quick look through it then?"
"Okay," Ralph said as he opened the scrapbook and they thumbed through the pages together, reliving the memories as they did so.
Presently they came to a picture of a six-months pregnant Melissa flashing a cute grin as she held up one of her ultrasound images in front of her swollen abdomen.
"Aw, I remember this," Melissa smiled. "Funny, we thought Michael was going to be a girl back then!"
"Oh yes," Ralph reminisced. "There's another good reason I don't trust doctors all that much..."
"Oh, c'mon, Ralph," Melissa chuckled. "Doctors aren't perfect. They make mistakes from time to time, just like you and I do..."
"Well, that's true," her husband nodded. "I still don't like them all that much, though..."
"Michael doesn't like going to the doctor, either," Melissa responded. "I remember when I took him for his flu shot he squirmed like crazy when they pulled out the needle...Huh, he must have got it from you!"
"It's a guy thing, Melissa," Ralph informed her.
A bemused Melissa shrugged and turned the page.
The couple flipped through several more pages, and eventually came to a picture of the couple giddily smiling in the kitchen taken just a couple of weeks before Michael had been born. In the photo, Ralph was giving his heavily pregnant wife a tender embrace from behind, and the two happy raccoons each had their paws placed lovingly on Melissa's bulging stomach.
"You know, it's funny, Ralph..." Melissa remarked. "We both look pretty happy in most of these pictures, but those nine months were actually pretty rough on us, weren't they?"
"Were they ever!" Ralph managed to laugh, remembering all the tough times Melissa's pregnancy had brought the couple. "I remember you were depressed quite often..."
"Well, it wasn't easy carrying a kid around inside me for nine months!" Melissa laughed as well. "But at least we went through that together."
"True, it was probably a lot easier for you having me around to help!" Ralph laughed again.
On the next page was a clipping of an article from an old issue of the Evergreen Standard, complete with the image of the proud parents in the hospital with their newly born child.
"Why did Bert have to do that?" Ralph groaned. "I told him not to put that story on the front page, and he went and did it anyways..."
"Aw, c'mon, Ralph," his wife replied. "It was a big news event in the Forest...The Standard is our paper, you know; it would only make sense for an article about Michael's birth to be in there..." She couldn't help but beam remembering how she felt the day Michael was born. To her, it was an incredible feeling realizing she had become a mother...it was one of the greatest moments in her entire life.
"I know that," Ralph nodded. "I just didn't want it to take up almost the whole first page...I thought it looked rather arrogant..."
"I don't think our readers minded; we got a lot of letters from our readers congratulating us, didn't we?"
"Yeah," Ralph sighed. "I just wish Bert hadn't gone and done that..."
They flipped through a few more pages, as they eventually came to a picture of a tired Melissa taking a nap on the couch, a two month old Michael fast asleep safely in her arms.
"Awwwww," Melissa gushed upon seeing that image. "How cute." Seeing all these photos from Michael's first year of life made Melissa feel quite warm and fuzzy inside...
"I took that picture, remember?" Ralph nudged her.
"Yes, you did," Melissa nodded. "It's one of my favorites. I keep a copy of it in my wallet, you know."
"I miss those times, honey," Ralph sighed.
"Yeah...me too..."
They flipped through the rest of the scrapbook, passing over photos of, among other things, Melissa nursing baby Michael with a warm smile on her face, an annoyed Ralph covered in baby food after Michael threw some on him, Michael giggling as Ralph tickled his chin, several photos of the couple caring for Michael when he had gotten severely ill, Michael's first steps, and finally, wrapping up at Michael's first birthday party.
"Aw, Michael's first birthday," Ralph sighed, feeling rather nostalgic. "I remember that like yesterday. Remember how George made the little cake for us, honey?"
"Oh, I do, I do, dear," Melissa nodded. "That was a very special day. I remember how glad I was considering he was so sick that I thought he wouldn't even get to see his first birthday!"
"I'm glad he did," Ralph smiled as he closed the scrapbook and placed it back on the coffee table. "Goodness. Did all that really happen seven years ago? It only seems like it was yesterday."
"I know," his wife agreed. "It seems like time has flown by so fast, hasn't it?"
"Sure has," Ralph agreed. "Our little son is growing up so fast. It seems like only yesterday he fit in the palms of our paws, and now he's about to be seven. Where did all the time go?"
That reminded Melissa of what she had been meaning to talk to her husband about. "Speaking of Michael growing up, sweetie," she piped up, "you remember we got Michael his birthday presents yesterday, right?"
"Of course I do, honey," Ralph nodded in reply. "He's pretty easy to shop for. He usually doesn't ask for much!"
"That's certainly true," she agreed. "But anyways, dear...While I was putting him to bed, Michael asked me if we could get him just one more present..."
"One more present? What did he ask for?"
"Well..." Melissa placed her finger on her chin. "He asked me if we could get him a puppy for his birthday."
"A...puppy?" Ralph was a bit taken aback at first, and it took him a few moments to respond and gather his composure. "Huh. Well, I guess that's not too big of a surprise, really. He's been fascinated every time he's seen a dog, be it on TV or in real life. I had a feeling he was going to ask about it eventually..."
"I kind of saw it coming too; I know most little boys want dogs sooner or later," Melissa added.
"Well..." Ralph thought aloud, "I guess it's a sign he's starting to grow up. He's reached the point where he wants a dog; it would be easier to get for him than some of the things he's asked for in the past."
"Oh, I know," Melissa nodded. "Remember when he was about three years old, he asked us if we could take him to the Island of Sodor to meet Thomas the Tank Engine and all his friends? The closest we could come to that was taking Michael for a ride on the Evergreen 504..."
"I remember," Ralph knowingly nodded, remembering the numerous times he had to sit through a Thomas videotape or DVD when his son was very little. While Melissa had found it to be a cute, innocent, and wholesome show, Ralph had never particularly cared for it; he found the idea of living steam locomotives a bit too ridiculous for his liking. But he had always sat through them to spend a little time with his son, especially since Michael got such a big kick out of them. He still couldn't get that theme song out of his head... "And then when he was four, he asked us to catch him a wild Pikachu..."
"Yes, and we had to get him his plush doll since there are no real Pikachu," Melissa smiled. "He still loves that thing so much."
"I remember how disappointed he was when we told him Pokemon aren't real..."
"Ah, anyways, Ralph," Melissa quickly got back to the subject at hand, "so my question is, do you think we should get Michael a puppy for his birthday?"
"Well...I'm not sure, honey," Ralph shrugged. "What do you think?"
"I'm not too sure myself. On the one hand, Michael is very responsible for a kid his age, but on the other hand, I worry it would be too much for him and something bad might happen to his puppy...I wouldn't want to see our son upset..."
"I remember when I was his age..." Ralph sighed as he remembered his own childhood. "I wanted a puppy too, but my mother wouldn't let me have one..."
"Why not, dear?" Melissa wondered.
"Well..."
Ralph's mind quickly flashed back to his childhood.
"But why can't I have a puppy, Mom?" a seven-year old Ralph asked his mother, Millie. "You told me how responsible I am for a kid. You said you thought I would do a good job of taking care of one. Why can't I have one? Bert has one..."
"Ralphie," Millie sighed, "I would love to get you a puppy, but we can't because...I'm allergic to dogs."
"Allergic?"
"I can't stand dog hair, Ralphie; it makes me sick and makes me sneeze a lot. Your brother George had a puppy when he was about your age, but we had to give it away because I couldn't stop sneezing..." Millie explained to her son.
"So we can't have one because it will make you sick?" little Ralph tearfully asked his mother.
"I'm afraid so. I'm really sorry, honey..."
Back in the present, Melissa patted her husband on the shoulder. "Aw, Ralph, that's too bad. I know you would have done a good job of raising a puppy when you were younger."
"Yeah, if only my mother hadn't been sick..." Ralph sighed.
"It's not her fault; she couldn't have helped it that she was allergic," Melissa reassured him. "You know, I wanted a puppy when I was little too, but I never got one..."
"You did?" Ralph raised his eyebrow.
"Yes, I did. But instead of a puppy, I ended up getting a cat."
"A cat?" Ralph was a bit surprised; he hadn't known that about Melissa. "I never knew you owned a cat..."
"Well, my father found it on our front doorstep and decided to let me keep it," she explained. "We didn't have it for very long, though...it was only a couple of years before he died of kidney failure."
"Oh..." Ralph replied. He could only imagine how upset his wife must have been when her cat died. "It's funny; I feel like I'm learning more new things about you every day, honey..."
"I feel the same way, dear," Melissa managed to crack a smile.
"You know..." Ralph thought aloud as they returned to the pressing matter they had been trying to discuss. "Michael is a pretty responsible kit, like you said. Doesn't he always help clean the dishes after dinner?"
"He sure does," Melissa proudly nodded.
"Doesn't he help you clean the house?"
"He sure does," Melissa repeated.
"And didn't he help us harvest the vegetables last year? I remember how excited he was when one of the tomatoes he picked himself won first place at the produce competition at the Fall Fair..."
"Oh, I remember that too! He was so happy that he had picked a prize winner..."
"You know, I'm thinking..." Ralph scratched his chin, "maybe it would be a good idea to get our son a puppy. He's already pretty responsible; but this could be a great way to teach him how to be more responsible."
"You know, you're right," Melissa agreed. "It could be the first big step on his path to adulthood: teaching him how to properly care for something. Raising a pet is a bit like raising a child. I would love to have grandchildren someday, and this could be a good bit of practice for him."
"I think so," Ralph nodded. "I have a feeling he won't have much trouble taking care of a dog..."
"So, are you saying you think we should get Michael a puppy?" Melissa asked.
"That's what I'm saying, yes," her husband responded. "It'll make a great present for him, and I think he'll do a great job of looking after it. Were you about to say no, honey?"
"Actually, I was leaning towards 'yes' myself," Melissa smiled. "But I wanted to see what you would have to say, first. So, I guess it's settled then?"
"I suppose so," Ralph nodded.
It was official. Ralph and Melissa were going to get their little son a puppy for his birthday. But the only problem would be actually finding one...
It was the next morning in the Evergreen Forest. The storm had passed during the night, and the sun was starting to shine throughout the Forest. It was time for most of the Forest denizens to open their eyes and begin a new day...
At the Raccoondominum, Ralph and Melissa were curled up on the couch together, snuggled up beneath a blanket. Things were quite peaceful, but they weren't about to stay that way for long...
The couple's slumber was interrupted by someone rapidly shaking them awake.
"Mom! Dad! Wake up, wake up!" a voice shouted.
Ralph and Melissa stirred in their sleep as their eyes slowly opened. Sure enough, it was their son Michael who had woken them up.
"Good morning, Mikey..." Melissa let out a very loud yawn. "You're up bright and early!"
"Well, I have to be up bright and early," Michael smiled. "School starts in an hour!"
"Oh, that's right...Wow, we almost forgot about that," Ralph yawned as well; the couple had admittedly stayed up a little later than they normally did. They'd been so busy chatting about their son that they hadn't really noticed the time flying by. They hadn't really gotten much sleep..."Did you sleep well last night? I know you're not all that fond of thunderstorms..."
"Whenever I got scared I just put my head under my pillow," Michael replied. Even though he was still scared of lightning, he was slowly but surely starting to conquer his fear. "Are you two going to get up?"
"I guess I'd better get to work fixing you breakfast and your school lunch, huh?" Melissa remarked.
"Yes, please, Mommy. I've got to hurry if I want to catch the bus on time! It'll be here in half an hour!" Michael had started riding the bus to school this year, although he still walked home like he had in his previous school years.
"Well, alright," Melissa smiled as she got up and headed for the kitchen.
"I think he's going to be pleasantly surprised when his birthday rolls around," Ralph whispered in his wife's ear, remembering the conversation they had last night.
"I do too," Melissa smiled back at him.
Soon Michael had eaten his breakfast and he was ready to go to school for the day. But before he left, he remembered what his mother had told him last night. How she had said that she would discuss the subject of him getting a puppy with his father. Michael didn't get his hopes too high, but he still wanted to know whether or not they'd get him a puppy...
"Dad, did Mom talk to you about what I asked her last night?" Michael wondered.
"Yes, she did, son," Ralph nodded in confirmation. "She said you wanted to get a puppy for your birthday."
"Well, can I please have one, Dad?" he innocently asked. "Please?"
Ralph didn't want to spoil the surprise for his son. "Well, we're not sure, Mikey," Ralph shrugged. "On one hand, you're quite responsible for a kid your age. On the other hand, we're not sure you're quite ready to handle taking care of another living creature. It might be too much for even you to handle..."
"But Dad..." Michael pleaded, feeling rather saddened. That had been pretty much what he'd been expecting to hear his father say. "I know I'd do a good job taking care of a puppy if you get one! I know I will!"
"We're not entirely sure of that, son," Ralph rubbed his son's head, trying to reassure him. "But we'll see."
"We'll see..." Michael's ears drooped upon hearing that. He knew that meant his wish to have a puppy of his own was not going to come true anytime soon. He had learned that there was no use in begging and trying to plead with his parents for something they were not going to get him, so he didn't protest. "Okay, Dad, I understand."
Just at that moment, the sound of the school bus honking its' horn rang out through the Raccoondominium. "There's my bus!" Michael hollered out. He quickly grabbed his lunchbox and headed for the front door. "Bye Mom! Bye Dad! I gotta go!"
"Goodbye, honey," Melissa tenderly smiled as she leaned down and kissed her son's cheek. "Have a great day at school."
"Be good at school today, son," Ralph quickly patted his son on the head. "Don't get into any trouble!"
"I won't, Dad! See you later!" With that, Michael ran out the front door and quickly boarded the bus as it left to pick up the rest of the schoolchildren.
"I felt kind of bad seeing how upset he was when we told him we weren't sure whether or not we should get him a puppy..." Ralph sighed.
"Oh well, it's for the best," Melissa gave her usual reassuring smile. "We didn't want him to find out about his surprise, did we?"
"No, we didn't," Ralph nodded. "Alright, honey, so we're going to get our boy a puppy for his birthday. We're going to need to get some supplies for the pup. What are we going to need?"
"Well, for starters, we'll need some dog food," Melissa explained. "Puppies need to eat, after all! We'll also need to buy some snack treats."
"We might as well get food and water bowls as well," Ralph added. "We could put them in the kitchen. Speaking of the kitchen, it'll probably learn to beg for food in no time flat..."
"That's certainly true!" Melissa chuckled. "We should also get a leash for the puppy. Michael will have to take it for walks, and we don't want it wandering too far away from him..."
"Definitely," Ralph agreed. "What if the puppy has an accident on our floor?"
"We could buy some training pads for it, to give it a place other than our floor to use the bathroom until it's properly potty-trained," his wife remarked.
"Okay, but I don't think Willow's Store carries any training pads for dogs."
"We can go to the market in Spruceton, dear. I'm sure they'll have everything we need," Melissa smiled.
"Okay, that should cover it. There's just...one thing, honey..."
"What's that?"
"Here's the million dollar question: where exactly are we going to get Michael's puppy?" Ralph wondered aloud. "I don't think we know anyone off-hand who has any puppies."
"Oh, Ralph, don't you remember?" Melissa giggled. "You can check the ads section of the Standard. Lots of people place ads for pets in the back pages, don't you remember?"
"Aggggghhh, how did I forget about that?" Ralph groaned, feeling embarrassed. "The Standard's my paper and I forgot all about the ads section. How could I have forgotten about that?"
"It's alright, dear," Melissa beamed. "You can check the ads at work. Speaking of work..." Melissa trailed off as she glanced aside at the clock on the wall. "I think we'd better go and get dressed. We're supposed to open the office up in about an hour and a half!"
"Sounds like a good plan to me," Ralph nodded as he let out a rather long sigh. Today seemed like it was going to be quite a long day..."Guess I'd better go take a shower..." It was at this very moment that a naughty idea crossed his mind. "Say, you want to join me in the shower, honey? It's been a while since we've done that..." Ralph managed a cheeky grin, a twinkle appearing in his eye.
Melissa hadn't been expecting her husband to suggest that idea, but it turned her on nonetheless. She always loved it when Ralph was spontaneous like this... "Ooh, that sounds like a fun idea, Ralph. I'd be happy to do that; I think we've got time for a little bit of excitement this morning...Plus it's a great way to save water," she purred as the couple headed upstairs arm in arm. It was sometimes nice to have a little bit of fun playing around before they went to work..
It was later that afternoon at the Evergreen Standard's office. Sure enough, it had been a pretty long day already, as it was another typical slow news day. Bert and Melissa were out on a field assignment together, leaving Ralph with only the company of the new employees he recently hired when he and Melissa had decided to expand their full-time staff beyond just three people the previous year, and the handful of college interns they were training who were hoping for careers here. They hadn't expanded much, as they still only had six people on their full-time staff, but even so, it still meant the work got done faster.
Ralph was looking through the classified ads people had sent in on his computer when suddenly he was interrupted from his thoughts.
"I got that story you wanted on Sneer Industries' latest expansion effort, sir," said one of the interns, a red wolf by the name of Tommy Thompson.
"Oh! Well, good job, Tommy. I didn't expect you to be back so fast with it!" Ralph managed to chuckle.
"It was no sweat, sir!" Tommy grinned. Ralph thought pretty highly of Tommy. He was a long-time loyal reader of the Standard and claimed have saved every single issue of the paper that had come out since he was 4 years old. He seemed eager to learn and was always on time with the articles he was assigned, plus he was rather polite. Ralph thought he had a good future at the Standard.
"You know, I see big things ahead of you here, Tommy. Keep up the good work," he complimented the intern.
"Well, I sure hope so, sir!" Tommy continued. "Ever since I was just a little pup I've always dreamed of working here someday!" With that, the wolf took his seat at his computer.
Ralph quickly went back to checking out the ads, hoping to maybe find a good dog for Michael in there. But nothing really seemed to catch his eye...
"Hmm..." Ralph muttered to himself. "Irish setters...Welsh corgis...Pomeranians...Scottish deerhounds...Borzois..." He couldn't help but shake his head. "I don't know if any of these puppies would make a good pet for Michael..."
But just then, he was quickly interrupted by the loud voice of the employee seated at the computer next to him. "Hey, Mr. R!"
"What do you want?" Ralph grumbled. It was Randy Ratliff, a muskrat who was one of the new hires he and Melissa had made last year. Randy had gone to school with his nephew Bentley (though he had been a couple grades behind his nephew) and he currently served as the Standard's sports writer. While Ralph had to admit Randy was skilled and had a good work ethic, he wasn't entirely fond of him as he reminded him too much of Bert. Randy was nowhere near as imaginative as Bert, but he was nearly just as loud. It seemed like he had no indoor voice. Admittedly, Ralph hadn't wanted to hire him when they had been interviewing prospective new employees, but Melissa had liked his enthusiasm and had given him little choice but to hire him.
"Well, Mr. R," Randy enthusiastically exclaimed, "I hear that you're looking to buy your son a puppy for his birthday next week! Am I right?"
"What?!" Ralph choked out. He hadn't told anyone else that he was planning to buy his son a puppy. How on earth did he know? "Where did you hear that?"
"Ah, well, Mrs. R told me while you were in the bathroom earlier!" Randy chuckled.
Ralph groaned. He though he told Melissa to keep this between the two of them...But he quickly shrugged it off. "Well, what about it?"
"Well, you're in luck Mr. R! My father's planning to sell some puppies this week! I was gonna place the ad in the paper before the end of the day anyways, but I figured I'd go ahead and tell you about it!" the muskrat explained. Randy still lived with his parents even though he had just turned 24 years old. "Well, at least he's making money and earning his keep, I suppose..." Ralph thought to himself.
"I didn't know your father was a breeder, Randy," Ralph replied. He vaguely knew Randy's father Duane; he had been in Ralph's class during their school years. He didn't know the Ratliffs particularly well, though...
"Oh, my Dad's not a breeder! We just own three dogs; two females and one male. One of our females had a litter of puppies eight weeks ago, and we're gonna sell 'em!"
"What kind of dogs are they?" Ralph asked out of curiosity.
"Ah, they're Olde English Bulldogges!" Randy grinned. "I think that just might be the right kind of dog for your boy, Mr. R!"
Ralph wasn't entirely sure of that. He didn't really know too much about bulldogs. Before he bought a dog for Michael, he wanted to know something about the particular breed beforehand. He knew there were some breeds that would probably not make good pets for his son. He already knew he wasn't getting him a rottweiler, a doberman, or a pit bull..."What can you tell me about bulldogs, Randy?"
"Eh, what d'ya mean?"
"Before I can buy a dog for my son, I want to know more about the breed. You surely know more about bulldogs than I do. I've heard that they are very stubborn and hard-headed. Is that true?"
"Ah, well, they can be," Randy admitted. "But, it depends on the dog! Their mother was easy to train. She only had one accident on our floor and she never did it again afterwards!"
"Are they aggressive?" Ralph wondered. "I don't want to buy my son a dog that might tear his little ears off his head. My wife would let me have it if I bought our son a dog that put him in the hospital..."
"Oh, no, no!" the muskrat exclaimed. "Why, they're quite friendly, Mr. R! We've never had a problem with any of our bulldogs. They're very well behaved! They can be a little rough to play with, but they're great for your boy if he wants a dog that's not afraid to play a little rough, but not too rough..."
"Hmm..." Ralph still wasn't entirely sure if he should get his son a bulldog. "Is there anything else you can tell me about them, Randy?"
"Well, if you get one, I wouldn't let it get anywhere near the Evergreen Lake, the River, or any other deep water. They're not very good swimmers. They'll sink like a stone if you put 'em in deep water," Randy explained. "Also, they need lots of attention; you don't want to leave 'em alone as they're prone to getting bored and causing chaos! But believe me, Mr. R, they do make great pets! I've grown up around 'em all my life! I can tell you anything you want to know about 'em! I guarantee, your boy would love to have one!"
"Hmm..." Maybe getting a bulldog for his son wouldn't be such a bad idea. His son was more physically active than he had been at that age...maybe he would like having a dog that would challenge him physically. "How much are you selling them for?"
"Ah, we're selling them real cheap, Mr. R! My Dad's selling them for $400 apiece! That's a real bargain, believe me! I've seen people sell 'em for over $2500! You aren't gonna find too many good bargains like that."
"I don't know..." Ralph muttered aloud.
"You and your wife could come by next Monday and have your pick of the litter!" Randy emphatically remarked. "You can even have the runt if you want!"
"Hrrmmm..."
Nearly a week had passed, and it was now September 13th; the day before Michael's-and Ralph's-birthday. It should have been a time for excitement for the young kit, as he was turning another year older and would no doubt receive many presents from his parents, his extended family, and his family's friends...
...but yet, the little raccoon just couldn't feel all that enthusiastic about it. He just knew he wasn't going to get the present he wanted the most.
It was early in the afternoon as Michael and his young friends, Cecil and Sylvia Sneer, were walking home together as they so often did. Normally, Michael was in a happy mood, but for the past week, he seemed rather down on himself. The twin aardvarks were wondering what was wrong with their friend, and they decided to ask him about it to see what was the matter.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong there, pal?" Cecil asked the little kit.
"Oh, nothing..." Michael sighed, though he knew that wasn't going to be enough to satisfy his friends.
"Something's wrong with you, Mikey," Sylvia remarked, with obvious concern in her voice. "You're not usually this quiet or sad..."
"Isn't your birthday tomorrow, Mikey?" Cecil asked. "Why would you be sad the day before your birthday? If my birthday were tomorrow, I'd be excited for all the presents I'd get!"
"Nothing's wrong, you guys," Michael quickly remarked as he didn't really want to talk about it. "I'm just fine."
"It's alright, you can tell us, buddy!" Cecil tried to encourage his friend. "We won't laugh at you, we promise!"
"Did something happen to you?" Sylvia wondered.
"Are your parents fighting?" Cecil chimed in.
"No, nothing happened to me and my parents are just fine," Michael sighed again. "It's...it's just that..."
"It's just that what?" Sylvia was confused.
"I just don't feel all that excited for my birthday," Michael lowly said.
"Why not? Aren't you getting a lot of presents?" Cecil didn't quite understand.
"Yes, but I'm not going to get the one present I really want..."
"What's that?" Sylvia asked him as she adjusted her glasses.
"I'm not going to get a puppy for my birthday," Michael sighed as his head slunk down.
"You asked your parents for a dog, eh?" Cecil quipped. "I know you like dogs, Mikey, I knew you were going to ask them for one!"
"Yes, but I know they're not going to get me one," Michael sighed yet again.
"Why not?" Sylvia questioned.
"Well, I asked my Mom last week if she and Dad could get me a dog for my birthday. Mom said she would ask Dad about it, and..." He couldn't finish his statement.
"And then what happened?" Sylvia wondered.
"They both said that they're not sure I can handle the responsibility," the kit lowly replied. "I do enough work around the house and always help out as much as I can, but they just don't think I can handle looking after a dog...I don't understand..."
"Aw, cheer up there, Mikey," Sylvia gave her friend a sympathetic look. "It's alright..."
"Yeah, we know how you feel!" Cecil exclaimed. "Last year we asked Mama and Papa if we could have a dog for our birthday, and they said they didn't think we were quite old enough to look after one..."
"You asked your parents for a dog, too?" Michael was surprised.
"Yes, we did," Sylvia nodded. "Well, I wanted a cat and he wanted a dog, and we flipped a coin to see what we would ask for. Cecil won," she explained. "I don't think our parents would have gotten us a cat, either..."
"You shouldn't be too upset, Mikey!" Cecil beamed. "It's still your birthday; just because you didn't get what you wanted doesn't mean you won't have fun!"
"I know, I just wish they would have listened to me," Michael sighed.
"Maybe you could try again next year and maybe your Mom and Dad will let you have one then?" Sylvia tried to encourage her friend.
"Maybe," Michael tried to be optimistic, although he wasn't sure of that. He realized at that moment that he was about to split up from his friends, as they took different paths to get to their homes. "I think I'd better get going. Mom and Dad should be home and I don't want to keep them waiting..."
"We'll see you later, Mikey," Sylvia waved as the two aardvarks headed off in a different direction. "I know your birthday's not until tomorrow, but happy early birthday!"
"Happy early birthday, Mikey!" Cecil repeated. "Hope tomorrow's a great day for you!"
"Thanks guys, I hope so too," the little kit waved as he headed for his home. "Bye."
Eventually, Michael reached the Raccoondominum. He knocked on the front door, but to his surprise, no one answered.
"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" he called out.
No response.
The confused kit opened the front door to his house and stepped inside. He was stunned to see that his parents were nowhere in sight. Usually, his mother would come racing towards the front door to kiss him and scoop him up in a big hug, and his father would tail behind to give him a hug as well. But they were not there, and he didn't understand why.
"Mom! Dad!" Michael called out, starting to feel a little scared. He didn't know where his parents could be. "Where are you? Are you here?"
It was at that moment Michael heard a strange sound coming from upstairs. It sounded like something squealing or whining. He didn't know what that sound could be...he couldn't help but feel a little scared. "Is that...a monster?!" Michael thought to himself, feeling a little frightened. His mother and father had told him that there were no such things as monsters, but he still didn't fully believe them. "Could a monster have gotten my parents...NO! I can't lose Mom and Dad!" Michael began to panic a little.
But at that moment, a voice called from upstairs. "We're up here, honey!" It was the voice of his mother. It was a huge relief hearing her voice; Michael knew his parents were home. But what were they doing upstairs?
"Mommy! What are you and Daddy doing upstairs?" he called up to them. He couldn't help but wonder...were his parents playing a game upstairs? He knew they had told him that they liked to play a game together at night sometimes, and that was why he heard sounds of excitement coming from their bedroom from time to time. He was still trying to figure out what kind of grown-up game it was that they loved playing so much. Were they playing it in the daytime, as well?
"We have a surprise for you, Mikey! Come on up, honey!" Melissa cheerfully called for her son.
"Where are you two?" Michael wondered. He still wasn't sure what they were up to...but he was intrigued by the promise of a surprise. Were they going to show him an early birthday present?
"We're in your bedroom," the voice of his father called. "You should come up here, son! I think you'll like what we have to show you..."
Now Michael's curiosity was piqued. He had to know what sort of surprise his parents had for him. "Okay, Mommy, Daddy! I'm coming!" With that, Michael slowly but surely made his way up the stairs to the second floor of his house. He headed towards his bedroom and found the door open. He peered in...
...but when he saw what was waiting for them in there, his jaw nearly dropped.
There on his bed sat his mother and father. On the bed with them was a small, wrinkled bulldog puppy. Melissa had a broad smile on her face as she was scratching the little pup behind its ears as its little stub of a tail wiggled back and forth frantically. "Oh, you are so cute!" Melissa remarked in a bubbly voice.
At that moment, Ralph got up from the bed and walked towards his son.
"MOM! DAD!" Michael was completely shocked. "You...you got me a puppy for my birthday?!"
"Yes, we did, son," Ralph grinned at his little kit.
"But...but...but you said you thought I wasn't responsible enough for one!" Michael spluttered out.
"Well, we didn't want you to know we were going to get you one ahead of time," Melissa explained, a bright smile still occupying her face. "We wanted this to be a big surprise for you."
"What kind of dog is it? And where did you get it?" Michael was absolutely bursting with questions at the moment.
"Well, it's called an Olde English Bulldogge, son," Ralph explained.
"Do you remember the man who works at the Standard with your father? Mr. Ratliff?" Melissa asked her son.
"Yes, I do. He always calls me 'Lil' R'! I don't really like that man," Michael remarked. He wasn't fond of the nicknames Randy Ratliff had given him and his parents.
"Well, his parents own bulldogs. One of theirs had puppies not too long ago, and they let us drop by their place this afternoon to have our pick of the litter," Melissa explained. "I didn't know they were this cute!" She seemed to have already fallen in love with the little wrinkled puppy.
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Michael asked one more question.
"It's a girl," Ralph replied, "and she's the runt of the litter."
"Runt of the litter...?" Michael was not familiar with that phrase.
"That means she was the smallest of all the puppies, Mikey," Melissa explained.
"Can I hold her, Mommy? Please?" Michael hopefully asked.
"Of course you can, sweetie!" Melissa replied bubbly as she picked the little bulldog up off the bed and handed her over to her son. "Here you go, Mikey."
"Be careful, son," Ralph cautioned his kit, "she doesn't know us really well yet, so she might be a little scared. She peed on my scarf while we were bringing her back home..." Ralph groaned a bit.
"Oh, okay, Daddy..." He was wondering why his father was wearing a different scarf from normal.
Michael glanced into the small chestnut-brown eyes of his new puppy. The puppy whined a little, but Michael quickly scratched her behind her ears, causing her tongue to come out and lick his face a few times, causing him to giggle.
"Hehehehe, stop it!" the kit giggled away. "I think she's friendly, Daddy!"
"She seems to be," Ralph agreed. "It will just take her a little while to get used to us. She's not used to being away from her brothers, sisters, and parents, after all."
"I understand," Michael smiled as he continued to affectionately scratch his new pet behind the ears. "Did you give her a name?"
"Actually, Mikey, we haven't named her yet," Melissa remarked. "We were waiting to see what you would want to name her. She's our family pet, but since we bought her for you, we want you to name her."
"Hmm..." Michael quickly thought to himself. "What can I name her?" He was having a bit of trouble thinking of a good name for his new puppy...
Then it dawned on him. At that moment, Michael suddenly thought of his favorite food-peanut butter. It gave him an idea for a name.
"I know what we can name her!" he proudly beamed. "We can call her Peanut!"
"Peanut?" Melissa repeated. "That's a cute name, Mikey. I like it!"
Ralph didn't personally think it was a great name, but he had decided that they'd accept whatever name he chose for the puppy as long as it wasn't really out there. "If you want to call your puppy 'Peanut', then that's what we'll call her, son," Ralph cracked a smile.
"Hi, Peanut," Michael cutely grinned at the bulldog. "I think we're going to be best friends!"
Peanut whined a little more, but did wiggle her stubby tail a few times.
Michael placed Peanut on the floor and she promptly began to explore and sniff around his bedroom. The little kit and his parents quickly embraced in a huge hug. "Oh Mommy, Daddy, thank you for getting me a puppy for my birthday...I thought you weren't going to get me one. This is such a surprise!"
"We're glad we could make you happy, son," Ralph beamed. "You're a good boy who works really hard around the house; you deserve to have a nice present like this."
"Happy early birthday, sweetie," Melissa affectionately rubbed her kit's head. "We love you."
"This is the best birthday present you've ever gotten for me," Michael continued to gush.
"Now, remember, son, this puppy is your responsibility. It's your job to see to it that she gets fed on time. It's your job to teach her proper behavior. It's also your job to teach her how to use the bathroom outside so it won't have accidents on our floor," Ralph explained.
"That's right," Melissa nodded. "Peanut is our family pet, but you do have to do your part to help properly train her..."
"I know, Mom, I'll do my best to take care of Peanut-I promise!" Michael happily replied.
"We know you will, Mikey..." Melissa warmly smiled.
Ralph glanced over his shoulder. "Speaking of accidents on our floor...!" Michael and Melissa glanced over to where Ralph was looking. Sure enough, there was Peanut standing in the corner of Michael's bedroom, squatting down...
"Not on my bedroom floor!" Michael groaned.
"Oh boy," Ralph shook his head. One thing he was not looking forward was having to help clean up puppy mess. He had thought he was through having to clean up messes when he successfully managed to teach Michael how to use the potty a few years ago...
"Guys, you should go take Peanut out-I'll get this cleaned up, don't worry!" Melissa announced as she sprang into action, grabbing a piece of tissue to pick up the mess.
Ralph picked up Peanut and went downstairs to get her leash while Michael followed his father downstairs.
Michael wasn't happy to see his new puppy leave a mess right on his bedroom floor, but still, it was hard for him to be mad. He was still so excited that his birthday wish had come true. "I just know Peanut and me are going to be the best of friends..."
Little did Michael know the troubles Peanut would soon cause him...
END CHAPTER 1
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, that's chapter 1 of "Puppy Problems". As I said, this was originally going to be only one part, but for reasons of convenience, I decided to make it a two part story. It's not a particularly exciting story, but I think this is a pretty good start. Little Michael's wish for a puppy has come true, but what sort of trouble will little Peanut get into? Anyways, just a few notes...
I thought it would be a good idea to introduce a few new elements that will definitely pop up in "Beat the Clock"'s future sequels; such as Michael's other friends besides the Sneer twins or the idea of the Standard expanding. I figured Michael, even though he is somewhat timid and has a hard time making friends, should have at least a couple of friends besides Cecil and Sylvia Sneer. Gary Kneitel will likely become a more prominent character in future stories as Michael's friend who does his best to remain positive despite the fact he lives in a broken home. As for the idea of the Standard expanding, it makes sense to me; it would be hard for the Standard to keep on going into modern times with just three full-time employees. You'll meet more of the Standard's new employees in due time...
And finally, as for why Michael ended up getting a bulldog puppy...this is somewhat based on my own real life. In real life, my family owns two bulldogs; a male and a female. The little bit about how Peanut's mother was easy to train is based on our own female; she was surprisingly easy to train and only had one accident on our floor before she was fully potty-trained! (On the other hand, we had the hardest time getting her to stop chewing things...she literally ate half of our laundry room floor to the point where she was throwing up floor tiles, and used to go through rugs in no time flat...) It's my own personal opinion, and I can't speak for everyone who has experience with the breed, but personally I think bulldogs are a bit misunderstood; they're not all as stupid as they are often perceived to be. I find something surprisingly lovable about the little wrinkled faces...
Anyways, next time around, find out what sort of trouble Peanut gets into as little Michael learns that he's not as responsible as he thought he was, and learns to be more careful...(I won't spoil what's going to happen, like I have a bad habit of doing! :D)